❀⊱━━━━━━━━━━━⊰❀

"Where have you been?" Marlene asked Lily frantically as the Prefect finally arrived at the dorm. Lily was about to answer when Marlene continued with a glare at her. "Don't you know how worried we were?"

Dorcas stood up and tried calming her down. "Marlene –"

"We looked everywhere!" Marlene cut her off with her voice rising. "We thought those stupid Slytherins got you again! We were about to talk to Professor McGonagall and the others."

"Marlene." Lily said in a quiet voice. "I'm sorry –"

"We haven't even found a cure for that yet!" Marlene sighed in frustration. "All of us here are worried because we don't know what that spell will do to you? What if it kills you, Lily? You're trying to protect Alexandra and her relationship with Lucius Malfoy when what it's doing is killing you!"

Everyone kept silent at that. Alice, Mary and Dorcas watched the scene with wide eyes. Marlene was still standing in front of Lily while Lily looked down at the floor, blinking back her tears. She knew. She knew this spell was slowly killing her, but what could she do? She didn't want to destroy Alexandra and Lucius' relationship.

"Stop this." Marlene said in a small voice. All of them looked at her in shock, immediately understanding what she was trying to say. "Stop this... This relationship with Alexandra. If you can't tell her the truth, just stop it. This... This is killing you, Lils."

"I'm sorry, Marls." Lily couldn't hold back her sobs. "I'm sorry." She hugged Marlene tight, knowing that her best friend was right. She was keeping secrets from Alexandra, and even if she said that she was doing it for Alexandra's own good, it was still wrong. She even worried her friends. Lily could only apologize because she herself didn't know what else she could do.

"We love you, Lils." Marlene hugged her back just as tight, wiping away her own tears. "We're just worried. We don't want to lose you."

"I know." Lily pulled away and smiled weakly at her. "I love you all too. Very much. I know you're scared of something bad happening to me. I'm scared too. But what I've learned from all this is that it is fear that will kill me, not love. Because if there's one thing I am sure of, it's you guys who've been keeping me alive and sane everyday. And, it's just one more person who will love me. I have another reason to fight and not give up to this... whatever this is."

"I'm not giving up. I am not letting this kill me." Lily wiped away her tears and smiled at everyone. "Xandra loves me, Marls. Just like how you all do so. I promise. This won't be the death of me." The five girls got into a tight hug after that. All of them knew they needed it, and they just hoped they could solve the mystery of this spell before it was too late. Lily was just blooming. She couldn't wither yet.

❀⊱━━━━━━━━━━━⊰❀

Lily frowned when she looked around the class and saw that Alexandra was not there. Sirius, Remus and Peter were there, but where was Alexandra? It made Lily worry because it was the first time she was absent in a long while.

"Absent again. Even Potter?" Professor McGonagall sighed and started handing out the papers with a shake of her head. That made Lily worry even more. Why was James not there too?

"Sirius, Remus, Peter." Lily whispered to them. The three boys looked at her in confusion. "Where's Alexandra?"

"We don't know." Sirius whispered back worriedly. "Quidditch practice was cancelled yesterday because she and James weren't there. We were starting to think that they had a fight or something."

"Did she tell you something? Anything?" Lily frowned and got even more worried. The three Marauders looked at each other before shaking their heads.

"Ever since you two got together, she's been going to school everyday." Remus let out a sigh. "The last time she went on like this was when she was heartbroken."

"Did the two of you fight?" Peter suddenly asked. Sirius and Remus looked at Lily with frowns. Lily immediately shook her head.

"Then why?" Sirius asked before he let out a sigh. "We'll try looking for her, all right?"

"Thank you." Lily smiled in gratitude before she looked back up front.

❀⊱━━━━━━━━━━━⊰❀

"It's okay, Marls. You can go ahead." Lily checked the clock again and sighed. She was at the Quidditch Pitch, waiting for Alexandra. The night before, Alexandra told her that she would meet Lily at the Quidditch pitch, but hours have passed and she still wasn't there.

"I'm sorry, Dorcas is waiting for me." Marlene said apologetically before frowning. "I don't think she's coming anyway."

"She'll be here." Lily smiled reassuringly.

"Okay. Take care." Marlene squeezed her hand and left to go back to the castle while Lily looked back at the entrance and sighed. No, Alexandra always kept her word. She knew she would come.

❀⊱━━━━━━━━━━━⊰❀

"Where do you think my mum is?" Harry sighed in frustration. They've been going to the hospitals in Cullen to look for Lily, but they haven't found her yet.

"This was just the second hospital." Draco said reassuringly. "We can still check the other ones. Wait." He ran to some of the people that passed by. "Excuse me, sir. Do you know where the nearest hospital is?"

"I think the nearest is at Hogwarts. Just an hour away." The man explained. "Some of the survivors were brought to their hospital wing."

"Okay, thank you." Draco smiled and went over to Harry. He was about to talk when suddenly, a car stopped in front of them. Harry and Draco looked at each other in confusion when the door opened and revealed Ria Black, wife of Regulus Black, herself.

"Come in." Ria grinned at them.

❀⊱━━━━━━━━━━━⊰❀

The drive was filled with an awkward silence as Harry and Draco exchanged glances when Ria kept on staring at them.

"James told me you two were in Scotland." Ria smiled at them through the mirrors. "Sorry about that by the way. It just feels weird seeing you. You both remind me so much of James, Lily and Alexandra."

"Are you really from Scotland?" Draco asked curiously.

"No, I was just assigned here." Ria explained to them. "I'm part of Magical Law Enforcement and I went here to help find the survivors. James gave me a call and told me you two were in Scotland. He told me to look out for you."

"So, you know where his mum is?" Draco squeezed Harry's shoulder.

"Yes, we're heading there right now." Ria chuckled when Draco clapped excitedly and smiled at Harry who couldn't help but sigh in relief.

"They really need to see each other." Draco squealed in delight.

"Aunt Ria?" Harry suddenly said after a moment of silence. Ria hummed to tell him she heard him. "Do you know why my mum and his aunt didn't end up together?" Ria stared at him for a moment before bringing her eyes back to the road, a story long hidden was resurfacing again.

❀⊱━━━━━━━━━━━⊰❀

❀⊱━━━━━━━━━━━⊰❀